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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28006734">His Silence</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/echobubbles02/pseuds/echobubbles02'>echobubbles02</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Angst, Brace yourselves, Deaf Character, Deaf Saihara Shuichi, F/M, Fluff, Human K1-B0 (Dangan Ronpa), Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Satoshi is the name I came up with for Shuichi's uncle, Slow Burn, neck kissing? if that counts??, only minor ones though- like, there may be some spicy things</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:08:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,469</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28006734</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/echobubbles02/pseuds/echobubbles02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <b>Deaf Shuichi Saihara AU!!!</b>
</p><p>Ever since he heard the culprits cries and yells… he hasn’t had much motivation on wearing his hearing aids. Not that he needs it anyways, his uncle signs perfect japanese towards him, other than his parents who’re in America.</p><p>Saihara is 18 now, going off towards his third year of high school. Oh to be a third year, what joyous moments will this year bring him. Last year was okay, but it wasn’t as… fun so to say.</p><p>Not that he couldn’t hear anything, but he could tell by the stares and looks he gets, nobody’s going to go out of their way to learn JSL to be able to speak to him, let alone get to know him.</p><p>Well, except it’s already happened.</p><p>---</p><p>Chapters will be updated whenever I'm in the mood to write. Please be patient with me ^^</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amami Rantaro/Shinguji Korekiyo, Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito, Iruma Miu/K1-B0, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>216</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Third Year New Year</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Quick things to note before reading this fic<br/>---<br/>They adress each other through surnames (Saihara-chan, Akamatsu-san, etc)<br/>Kokichi is a foster kid who lives with Rantaro and his family<br/>Kiyo is a depressed nerd and his sister is not creepy<br/>Kiibo is human, and is sometimes called 'Idabashi-kun'<br/>Gonta doesn't totally talk like a caveman<br/>Rantaro's sisters are A-okay</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You know, it wasn’t necessarily supposed to be this way, but guess it couldn’t be helped at all. Shuichi Saihara, a famous detective prodigy who can’t hear a single thing in everyday life, yet he was still able to solve a very difficult case.</p><p>Not that he wanted to. He was just coming along with his uncle for a work trip until he got all caught up into this.</p><p>It happened when he was 12, one year after permanently damaging his hearing. He didn’t really mean to find the clue, he wasn’t even sure what they were talking about despite the hearing aids he had on him. He’s seen his uncle work on a case before, so he just thought that the clue they missed was important. He didn’t solve too much, but he at least busted out the motive… and narrowed down between who the killer may have been.</p><p>That did the job in finding the culprit though.</p><p>Ever since he heard the culprits cries and yells… he hasn’t had much motivation on wearing his hearing aids. Not that he needs it anyways, his uncle signs perfect japanese towards him, other than his parents who’re in America.</p><p>Saihara is 18 now, going off towards his third year of high school. Oh to be a third year, what joyous moments will this year bring him. Last year was okay, but it wasn’t as… fun so to say.</p><p>Not that he couldn’t hear anything, but he could tell by the stares and looks he gets, nobody’s going to go out of their way to learn JSL to be able to speak to him, let alone get to know him.</p><p>Well, except it’s already happened.</p><p>First year of middle school. His now known best friend, Kaede Akamatsu, specifically went out of her way to talk to him. It was a tad bit awkward at first, since they had to write on paper, but in between all of her piano lessons, rehearsals, and showcases, she still managed to find the time to learn JSL… just for him.</p><p>He’s thankful, of course. Why wouldn’t he be? Kaede even dragged two of her other friends to come and learn with her throughout their three years in middle school all the way up to their first year in high school. Kaito and Maki were pretty nice. Kaito is considerate while Maki is patient as ever. Shuichi couldn’t ask for better friends than them.</p><p>Truthfully, the first sign they’ve all gotten to know was ‘sorry’. Funny you should ask, Shuichi’s always been constantly using that sign for the life of him, he apologizes for even the simplest things. To this day, he still does it.</p><p>Being deaf served him not much problems. Not that he’s not ever encountered one… but ever since he met Kaede… his problems seemed to have decreased.</p><p>The three of them know about how he has hearing aids, and never puts them on, and they respect that. Shuichi was quite nervous when wanting to tell them at first, so his three friends being accepting towards it made his heart beat at a much slower pace when talking to them. His anxiety always gets the best of him at times, so the silence usually is the reason why he calms down. Don’t want to end up breaking down in front of people and have them struggle to comfort him if they don’t know JSL..</p><p>He usually only wears his hearing aids whenever he’s alone with someone he trusts, or when it’s just his uncle. His uncle doesn’t really mind, since he is fluent in JSL. Hell he was the one who taught him JSL in the first place… unlike his parents.</p><p>Shuichi was awakened by his uncle after moments of laying in bed. He would use an alarm clock, but there wasn’t much of a point of it if you couldn’t hear.</p><p>He felt a tap behind his shoulder and rolled over, sitting up on his bed and tiredly rubbed the both of his eyes before looking at his Uncle.</p><p>‘Good morning,’ He signed, ‘Breakfast is ready downstairs. I’ll be leaving for work so I trust that you can get to school yourself.’</p><p>That was a first, usually his uncle would always drive him. Not that he didn’t mind, it was just something different for a change. He nodded in reply after a small number of moments.</p><p>“Okay,” Shuichi answered verbally, reaching for his phone and unlocking it. “I can text Akamatsu-san to come and walk with me then.” He smiled just a tiny bit, walking to school with Kaede is always fun. She’s generally a fun person to be around. He started typing a text message to her, sending it fairly quickly afterwards and looked back up at his uncle.</p><p>‘Great!’ He smiled towards him before giving Shuichi a small wave. ‘I’ll be heading off now, tell her I said hi!’</p><p>“Bye, see you when you get home.” He called out, watching his uncle leave his room. As he was getting ready, he glanced out at his window, seeing his uncle drive away and off to the agency he worked at.</p><p>He wrapped a black sweater around his waist after picking his outfit for the day. The weather says it was going to be chilly, and even though he had black and white striped long sleeves, his uncle usually always suggests that he carries a light sweater with him in case it gets chilly. He tugged his socks on his feet before sliding down towards the stairs, seeing a plate of food on the table just for him with a little note, likely from his uncle. Shuichi went over to it, picking the note up.</p><p>It read, ‘Have a good first day of your third year, Shuichi’. He smiled softly at the nice gesture before sitting down to eat his food. After moments of eating and being nearly done with his plate, he felt his phone vibrate and picked it up, seeing a text from Kaede.</p><p>
  <i>`I’m outside of your house Saihara-kun! Answer the door whenever you can`</i>
</p><p>Swiftly, Shuichi downed his food, moving his plate into the sink and washed it, including his hands. He then ran back upstairs to get his bag before opening the front door for Kaede, which she greeted happily with a small wave.</p><p>‘Good morning, Saihara-kun!’ She signed, speaking as she did. Kaede had a habit that whenever she signed, she would say what she was signing. Unless they were at a public place. ‘I saw your text earlier and came as fast as I could.</p><p>Shuichi chuckled, ‘Good morning, Akamatsu-san,’ He signed back in greeting, pursing his lips slightly when she said that. ‘You didn’t necessarily have to rush over.’</p><p>‘But I wanted to!” Kaede told him, a pout forming on her face, ‘Helping you out with anything is the best thing I could do for you!’</p><p>‘You’re very sweet, Akamatsu-san.’ Shuichi signed, giving her a small smile afterwards, to which she gave one back, causing her pout to instantly disappear. Shuichi moved outside, closing the front door behind him and locked it with the spare keys his uncle had given him before starting to walk towards the direction of the school. He turned around, now walking backwards. ‘Come on, we don’t want to be late now do we?’</p><p>Kaede shook her head in reply, catching up to him enough to where he was able to walk forward</p><p>---</p><p>Homeroom was nice. All three of his friends had the same homeroom as him, as well as all of his other classes which were great. Although he didn’t like to do this, it was definitely mandatory for him to wear his hearing aids during class time and lectures. Other than that though, he takes them off. He wouldn’t want his friends to worry about writing down two copies of notes from class… just for him. They’ve actually tried it before, but it didn’t really turn out too swell.</p><p>First block was a bit loud, and he didn’t like it. He was glad Kaede was sitting next to him in that class though. Truthfully, he wouldn’t know what he’d do if Kaede was here with him. Maybe he’d have a breakdown, maybe he wouldn’t. It’s most likely the breakdown bit though.</p><p>Second block wasn’t all that bad, but due to some circumstances, Shuichi had to sit in the front because of his lack of hearing. Kaito was one seat away from him, so that reassured him just a bit. He feels sorry for needing to always rely on them though… he just couldn’t help it- not like he was doing it on purpose.</p><p>The rest of the blocks were chill, but during lunchtime, they managed to get the best seating area in the cafeteria. A rounded table with comfortable chairs, and enough space for them all to fit and spread their food out.</p><p>Throughout the entirety of lunch, The three of the friend group chatted about their day while Shuichi aimlessly ate his food. Occasionally, the three of them would try and get him to join the conversation, it didn’t really end up too well because of Kaito not being able to keep up, so Shuichi just ended up saying that it was fine to talk without him.</p><p>When he was done eating, he tapped Kaede on the shoulder, telling her that he was going outside to finish one of his novels. He borrowed it from the school library, and it was due to be returned today after school. He really wanted to finish it.</p><p>‘Okay, if you need anything send me a text or come right back here.’ Kaede signed, which Shuichi nodded. He grabbed his things before heading towards his favorite reading spot, underneath a cherry blossom tree.</p><p>These sorts of spots were typically used for confessions, which he found to be weird. Kaede said the meaning behind it was from a little take of the sakura blossoms related towards the tree. Shuichi never really thought of it like that, so he always ended up going here. It was silent, calming, and a beautiful scenery to look at. Even if it is on school grounds.</p><p>Chapter 19 of the mystery novel he was reading, it was getting a little intense. This is the second to last chapter he needed to finish by today, he thinks he can whiz past it. It’s only been a week and he has already made it this far. The novel was stretching out towards the end of where the detective would conclude it’s final case on the mystery she was solving. Throughout the book, her journey concludes to this answer.</p><p>Despite already knowing what would probably happen, and calling almost major points that would appear, Shuichi kept reading it. It’s not fun to just always assume, and reading helps him to be more calm, helping his visual skills too.</p><p>The only problem was that when it came to sound descriptions… he didn’t know how to imagine it.</p><p>He always tries his best, but it’s just too hard. That was the only downfall of him reading a book, he can’t imagine what the sound of scrapped metal, the wind blowing past your face on a sunny day, almost singing a song. He can’t imagine what festive music would be like, he’s never heard it at all.</p><p>Shuichi mildly shrugged. It was fine, he was used to this by now. Sound can’t mean everything.</p><p>At the verge of finishing chapter 19, he felt a presence in front of him. He didn’t notice it at first, truthfully he only noticed the person in front of him there by glancing up a little from his book. He fully looked up after a few moments, making eye contact with violet purple eyes. He blinked, examining the other’s face. His mouth was moving… oh right- he was probably trying to get his attention. Now he looks like he’s rude.</p><p>“Heeeey are you ignoring meee?” Is what the other said, a pout surfaced on his face. Shuichi couldn’t hear him, but it’s not like he knew.</p><p>“Sorry, I can’t hear anything you say.” Shuichi told him with a small smile. The other in front of him only got more confused.</p><p>“Are you playing jokes with me or something?” They asked again, Shuichi hesitated for a moment. Gosh why are interactions like this so hard.</p><p>“I’m... deaf, sorry.” Shuichi told him, glancing down a little, “If you don’t know JSL, talking to me is… kinda pointless.”</p><p>The other opened his mouth to say something else before realizing that maybe he was telling the truth. Even though he couldn’t hear it, the sigh was clear in his mind when he did and he watched as he took out a notepad, taking a pen from Shuichi’s backpack before starting to write in it.</p><p>‘How come you can speak normally?’ He wrote, Shuichi rubbed the side of his cheek and glanced up at the other.</p><p>“Uhm well… it’s because I lost my hearing when I was about 12. Wasn’t really the best year.” Shuichi explained.</p><p>The other nodded before writing another sentence down. ‘What’s the book you’re reading? Is it good?’</p><p>Shuichi smiled, “It’s uh- a mystery novel from a favorite series of mine…” He told him, “I’m one chapter away from completing it, so if you want to check it out, the whole series is in the school library.” He held up the book, pointing to the number. “This is… book five though, so you might want to start on book one…” He’s… always wanted someone to gush with him over the series. He asked his friends but they weren’t really interested, so he didn’t push on it much more.</p><p>The other nodded again with a big grin. Shuichi saw his mouth move a little, which was a little bit hard to decipher. His expression turned into a confused one afterwards. “... What did you just say?” He asked.</p><p>The boy in front of him just shrugged, taking the pen to write something down again. ‘How much do I have to catch up on the series.’</p><p>Shuichi’s eyes lit up when he saw that written down on the notepad and smiled again. “You’re really going to read it?!” He asked, holding the book in his hands.</p><p>The other shrugged with a nod before writing down on the notepad again. “Why not, it sounds like a good series and I’ve got nothing else to do during my spare time.”</p><p>“Do- Do you maybe want to uhm… go to the library and check out the book? I need to return this back today… so- I could maybe show you around?” Shuichi paused for a moment, poking his two index fingers. “I mean- you don’t have to, it was just a suggestion-” He mumbled a little, talking about something related towards it until he felt the other boop his cheek. He saw that he laughed a little, and read the notepad he held up.</p><p>‘Sure, why not?’ There was a smiley face at the end of the sentence which caused Shuichi to smile.</p><p>“O- Okay then!” He doesn’t know why he’s so excited. Maybe it’s because he made a new friend? Wait… what’s his name? Oh shoot-</p><p>Luckily for him, the boy talking to him was already on it. ‘Ouma Kokichi is my name, I’m totally in your third and fourth block!’ Shuichi nodded, slowly moving his hands to sign his name, saying it as did so.</p><p>“Ou-ma-kun, Ouma-kun.” Shuichi smiled in satisfaction before signing his own name. “Saihara Shuichi.” He said.</p><p>Kokichi tried imitating his signing, but obviously failed and pouted a little since he didn’t get it. ‘Okay Saihara-chan it is!’ He wrote with a smiley face with its tongue sticking out. He moved over a little to get a better look at the book in Shuichi’s hands, taking the notepad and showing what he wrote to him. ‘You should really get back to finish reading that book, Saihara-chan. Meet me at the entrance of the library afterschool and we can go inside together!’ He stood up afterwards, giving Shuichi a wave.</p><p>Even though Shuichi couldn’t hear what he said, he knew. </p><p>“See you later, Saihara-chan!”</p><p>Shuichi gave a small wave back, watching as the other left. A delightful feeling was left inside of him. He didn’t know it was because of whether Kokichi tried to understand him, he was interested in the series he was reading, or maybe the fact that they’re going to hang out after school.</p><p>Wait, is it hanging out? Or just a quick hung out. He wasn’t fully sure.</p><p>He knew one thing though, it’s that maybe this year might not be so bad… He had a good feeling about it.<br/>
---</p><p>The rest of the school day was as simple as it could get. Classes were being taught and not so much notes were being taken, but Shuichi knew that soon enough it would be. All syllabuses have been passed out, he just hopes that his uncle doesn’t arrive home late so he can sign them in order to be turned in by tomorrow.</p><p>I mean he has the whole week, but he’d rather get it done when it can instead of waiting until the last moment, you feel?</p><p>At last, the end of the school came. Surprisingly he managed to finish chapter 20 of the book during class. It was a bit split here and there, but it’s all thanks to finishing his work fast enough to be able to read.</p><p>Shuichi went over to Kaede, tapping her on the shoulder. She turned around, giving him a wave before signing, ‘Ready to go, Saihara-kun?’ He shook his head in response.</p><p>“I’m… going to the library to hang out with someone, and to check in this book.” He told her, giving her a small smile.</p><p>Kaede’s mouth formed into an ‘o’ shape as if she was oohing. ‘Who’s the new friend? You got to introduce me to them!’</p><p>“His name is Ouma-kun… I met him when I went outside to my reading spot.”</p><p>Kaede nodded thoughtfully before sending him a wave. ‘Okay, Harukawa-san, Momota-kun, and I are going to hang out in the ice cream store we go to… even though I’ll be third wheeling. If it’s not too late come join us! We’ll be there until five.’</p><p>‘Speak of the devils.’ Shuichi signed, speaking as he said that and pointed over behind Kaede. Maki and Kaito were there.</p><p>Maki gave a silent greeting as Kaito signed hello, giving Shuichi and Kaede a wave.</p><p>Shuichi gave a wave back before speaking again. “Have fun!” He said, “I’ll text you when I’m done! If not I’m probably home.” He gave them all one final wave of goodbye before picking up his things and left the classroom.</p><p>Eagerly, he started heading towards the library. He doesn’t exactly know why he was so excited, it was just someone he had just met a little while ago. He shook his head, shoving those thoughts away from his mind. It’ll be fine! It’s not like throughout his entire life he’s only be socializing with the friends he did knew including his uncle-</p><p>…</p><p>Damnit. That is true. ANYWAYS- it didn’t matter at all! Everything is going to be fine, Kaede always told him to just be himself whenever he was trying to make new friends! Even though he ended up being a whole mess. He’ll just- try not to stutter too much. He managed to get through their conversation at the tree, so what’s the worst that could happen?</p><p>He felt a light tap on his shoulder after a few moments. Woah- guess he spaced out a little. He looked to the side of him, seeing that it was Kokichi. The other gave him a wave, bringing up the notepad and pen and scribbled something down. “Hi Saihara-chan, you ready? Also I accidentally stole your pen. Whoops!’</p><p>Shuichi blinked, seeing that he did in fact, accidentally steal his pen. He laughed softly before nodding, “Mhm. And don’t worry about it, you can keep the pen.” He told him.</p><p>Kokichi grinned, ‘Aww Saihara-chan is so nice!’ He wrote, grabbing the other’s arm and started leading him to the library. Once they were in, he jotted something down again. ‘You go check in your book, I need to see something real quick!’ With that, he skipped off to one of the aisles, leaving Shuichi by himself.</p><p>He stopped and stared at Kokichi before moving towards the front desk, greeting one of the teachers there.</p><p>‘Good evening, Fukawa Sensei.’ He signed, placing the mystery novel down. ‘I came back to return this book.’<br/>
Fukawa (or as you readers may know as Toko) looked at Shuichi and gave him a wave, ‘Already done? You’re a fast reader Saihara-kun.’ She signed, bringing the scanner over to scan his book. ‘Are you interested in checking out any other books?’</p><p>Shuichi shook his head, ‘No, I’m just here to check that book in and to help someone out.’</p><p>Kokichi suddenly came bolting in, slamming two books down on the front desk. It startled Shuichi a little, despite him not hearing it. Boy is he glad that he didn’t have his hearing aids in.</p><p>Conversation started between Fukawa and Kokichi, Shuichi couldn’t hear a thing, but he could tell that Fukawa looked a little irritated by what Kokichi did. His eyes trailed down towards the two books Kokichi brought. Book one of the mystery novels from the series he was reading and… his eyes slightly widened at the next one.</p><p>‘Basic Japanese Sign Language’, was the title of the other book.</p><p>Shuichi glanced between the book and then to Kokichi, then back towards the book again. Every few seconds he would change between those two. He was confused… yet happy. Kokichi literally just met him, and now he’s going out of his way to learn JSL to be able to speak to him properly? He couldn’t help but feel a warm feeling inside of him.</p><p>After moments of just staring off into space, Kokichi tugged on his arm and held up both of the books, a big grin on his face. Shuichi just ended up smiling, leading them both towards one of the tables. Kokichi sat down in front of him and scribbled something on the notepad once again. “I’m going to learn JSL so I won’t have to keep writing on this small notepad! You should be grateful, Saihara-chan!”</p><p>Shuichi smiled softly, “I am grateful…” He told him, glancing down at the mystery novel. “You got the novel too?”</p><p>Kokichi gasped, putting a hand over his chest. Shuichi just laughed a little at his dramatic reactions. ‘Of course I did!! What do you take me for, Saihara-chan? A liar??’</p><p>Shuichi shrugged in response, “Well… you did lie about being in my third and fourth block.”</p><p>A pout came upon Kokichi’s face, ‘Aw man, caught me already? You’re very perspective. I now see why you read mystery novels.’ He opened the Basic JSL book before beginning to read a few texts before closing it and sighed. Once again, he grabbed the notepad to write something for Shuichi ‘I’ll learn some things later. Do you wanna hang out Saihara-chan?’</p><p>Shuichi blinked and looked at the notepad before nodding. “Sure. Some of my friends are hanging out at an ice cream store, wanna go?”</p><p>Kokichi looked like he groaned, but he shook his head. ‘I meant hangout just the two of us!!!!!’ He added a whole lot of exclamation marks… which gave Shuichi a sign that he was complaining about it.</p><p>“You… only just met me though…” Shuichi told him, tugging his hat over his head a little. “I don’t understand… why you would really-” Before he could even finish his sentence, he felt Kokichi boop him on his cheek again, shoving the notepad paper into his face.</p><p>‘I want to get to know you. Is it really that bad to want to become friends with someone, Saihara-chan?’</p><p>Shuichi paused, reading what he had written a few times before glancing down. “I… I guess not…” he mumbled, looking back at Kokichi again. “Well then, if you want to know me… that bad Ouma-kun, where do you want to hang out?”</p><p>Kokichi thought for a moment before his eyes lit up. He scrawled something down hastily yet again, bringing the notepad back up for Shuichi to read. ‘There’s this really great restaurant that sells some delicious dango as dessert. My brother’s taken me there before and I’ve been meaning to go there again!’ He pulled out his phone, opening the internet maps and showed it to Kokichi, pointing to where the school was and where the restaurant was.</p><p>“Oh- it’s only a couple of blocks away…” Shuichi mumbled, to which Kokichi nodded. He was about to put his phone back into his pocket until it started ringing. He frowned, declining the call before turning to Shuichi and wrote something down.</p><p>‘We can go there tomorrow! Sorry to leave you here Saihara-chan, but I have to head home, my big bro is getting worried.’</p><p>Shuichi frowned, looking a little disappointed but he nodded. “Ah, it’s alright Ouma-kun, no need to apologize.” He told him before getting out of his seat. “I can walk you there if you want me too.”</p><p>Kokichi followed after him in getting out of his chair, writing something else down before showing it to him. ‘Not necessary Saihara-chan! I want you to be a surprise for my beloved big brother!’ He grinned, putting the notepad away and grabbed the two books, pointing to them both as a gesture that he was totally going to read them once he got home! He started heading towards the exit of the library, giving Shuichi one last wave before running off, leaving him by himself…</p><p>Again.</p><p>Not that he minded of course, it was just… he was looking forward to it, but guess that was going to have to wait until tomorrow.</p><p>After standing there for a few more moments, Shuichi pulled his phone out, texting Kaede that he won’t be making it to her hangout at the ice cream shop with her, Maki, and Kaito. He was just going to head home, do homework, and probably sleep. He can’t really go anywhere without being with someone, and by the time he was done with whatever he needs to do, Kaede and the rest would probably be long gone from the ice cream shop.</p><p>Shuichi got a quick reply back from Kaede saying that it was fine. He shoved his phone back into his pocket once he read the text and waved goodbye to Ms. Fukawa., making his way back to his own house.</p><p>His uncle shouldn’t be home until later on or tonight, so he basically has the house to himself until then. Usually when these sort of things happen, he either hangs out with Kaede, or sits around to try and entertain himself.</p><p>Thankfully, he got home safely. Didn’t run into any cars or anything specifically dangerous. His hearing can be a downfall to him sometimes… but it was fine. The silence was nice from time to time. He just wished he could hear his friend’s voices. I mean, he technically could, but he doesn’t like using his hearing aids.</p><p>Shuichi sat down on his chair, pulling his binder out from his backpack before beginning to do his homework. It was only from math class, but homework on the first day? Not his way. About thirty minutes later and he was done, he put all of his work away and started stretching in his chair letting out a yawn. It wasn’t that late, but he just figured it’d be better to sleep… since he doesn’t want himself to end up doing something he may regret later on. Like for example, heading outside to try and make his way somewhere, or over to Kaede’s house.</p><p>Even though Kaede’s house wasn’t that far, he still didn’t want himself to risk it. It was getting dark anyways, and he definitely does not want to go outside in the dark. His uncle would always tell him that if he was going outside when it was late, he had to be with someone he could trust. Otherwise substandard things may happen.</p><p>Oh well, he didn’t care too much about it anymore. He was in bed now, closing his eyes in relaxation and drifted off to sleep.</p><p>---</p><p>“Ran Raaaan- I made a HUGE mistake!” Kokichi complained, running from his room down to the kitchen.</p><p>Rantaro was currently making dinner for everyone. It was his turn to cook today for the family. “What is it lil’ bro?” He asked, turning away from the stove to look at Kokichi.</p><p>“Ugh! My friends made a deal with me, daring me to befriend that deaf kid. You know- the one with the silly looking hat?” Kokichi rested his head and arms on top of the counter, letting a pout come on his face.</p><p>Rantaro arched a brow, turning his head forward. “Well… why did you take the dare in the first place if you’re just going to end up trying to complain to me.”</p><p>“I lost to a bet!” Kokichi defended, crossing his arms afterwards. “And now that I’ve actually talked to him, he’s just- aaauugghhh” He wiped his hands over his face, sliding them down before sitting on a stool.</p><p>“He’s just what?” Rantaro asked, turning the stove off afterwards and went to sit in front of him.</p><p>Kokichi made some frustrated noise, “I don’t know- he seems like a genuine nice guy but I don’t want to like… go too far into this whole thing!”</p><p>“Then don’t?” Rantaro replied.</p><p>“Then I’ll look dumb.”</p><p>“You know you don’t have to do things like these right?” Rantaro went over to the stove again to turn it on. “Just hang out with him tomorrow and then be over with it.”</p><p>“But I don’t wanna look like a douche bag to him!” Kokichi yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. “High school’s all about your appearances, physically and socially!”</p><p>“And it is also about the days where you’ll mostly forget the minor days.” Rantaro responded, “Just give it a rest Kokichi, if you don’t want to hang out with him, well then don’t hang out with him. He’ll give up on it.”</p><p>“Fine- fine I’ll just hang out with him for a bit and never speak to him again!” </p><p>“See? Easy fix-up.” He smiled, getting the plates all ready and set them down in front of Kokichi. “Set up the table for everyone please?”</p><p>Kokichi nodded, bringing a few of the plates to the table at a time. Don’t wanna drop them all of course. He was still worried though, he didn’t want to hurt the poor guy’s feelings. Wait? Why is he even caring?? He’s the one doing this, not him! It’ll be fine.</p><p>At least, he hopes it will...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello reader! Thanks for taking the time for reading my fanfic. I've worked really hard on it so knowing that someone's read it makes me happy.</p><p>Quick thing though, this fic was inspired by Akiragane's 'Comfort in Your Silence' fic and reiiku_'s own Deaf Kokichi AU on instagram. Go check them out!!</p><p>Honestly I've been meaning to write something for the danganronpa fandom, but just never really had a solid idea. Deaf Kokichi AU has been my seretoin for awhile- and I really just wanted the roles to swap and boom, here I am doing that.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Hangout? No</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>‘I’m glad you met someone who’s willing to learn JSL for you, Saihara-kun!’ She told him, ‘It’s good you’re able to socialize more besides with me, Harukawa-san, and Momota-kun, not that I mean any offense or anything.’ She didn’t want to look rude of course, especially since she knows Shuichi has a hard time socializing with others.</p><p>Shuichi nodded as well, “Mh… it feels… kind of nice to talk to someone new, even though I like hanging out with you guys of course.”</p><p>‘Well, are you hanging out with him today again?’</p><p>“Maybe,” Shuichi replied, “It’s… not decided.”</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Day two of being a third year. No changes yet, but Shuichi seemed more excited for today than he has been for well… any other day he guesses. Maybe it was because of the fact that he and Kokichi will hangout today, after school! Well, the other might not want to even hangout- or maybe he was just being too doubtful.</p><p>Anyways</p><p>Like the usual, his uncle would wake him up, tell him breakfast was ready, and then what surprised Shuichi next was that his uncle was leaving him to walk to school by himself again. Strange, but nonetheless it wasn’t a problem. He got to school just fine yesterday so there shouldn’t be a problem, Kaede lives a few blocks from him anyways, he could just… ask her to walk with him!</p><p>‘I’ll see you tonight,’ His uncle signed, ‘Cases have been piling up recently so it’s why I didn’t drive you yesterday.’</p><p>Shuichi nodded while chewing on his rice, swallowing it before speaking. “Okay, see you uncle Satoshi.” He gave a wave.</p><p>Satoshi gave a wave back before heading to the door to open it, revealing a Kaede at the door. “Oh, hello Akamatsu-san.”</p><p>“Good morning!” Kaede greeted, “I just came over to walk with Saihara-kun to school.”</p><p>Satoshi moved out of the way, gesturing over to Shuichi who was still eating his breakfast. “I’ll leave him to you then, have a good day at school.” He grabbed his keys before heading out once Kaede stepped in.</p><p>“We will! Don’t worry!” Kaede gave a wave to Satoshi before going over to Shuichi, sitting down next to him.</p><p>Shuichi blinked, glancing up from his plate and looked at Kaede, a little surprised. “Did my uncle let you in?” He asked.</p><p>Kaede nodded, moving her hands to sign. ‘Yeah, I wanted to come over to see if he was driving you or not today so I could walk with you or not.’</p><p>Shuichi nodded, taking a bite of his last tamagoyaki before standing up, moving his plate to the sink and washed them all. “Okay, let’s get going then.” He wiped his hands, grabbing his backpack that he had setted next to his chair and looked at Kaede.</p><p>Kaede nodded in response, heading towards the door, opening it for them both. Shuichi walked out of the house, locking it with the spare key he had, and just like that they were heading towards school.</p><p>Shuichi felt a light tap on his shoulder on their way there, and he turned his head to look at Kaede, giving her an inquiring look as a response.</p><p>‘How was your hangout with Ouma-kun?’ She signed, asking with a small smile.</p><p>“It was… fairly interesting.” Shuichi replied, verbally since it was easier. “I think it went well. Ooh! And he checked out a basic JSL book… which means he might well, you know!-”</p><p>Kaede’s face beamed with positivity, ‘I’m glad you met someone who’s willing to learn JSL for you, Saihara-kun!’ She told him, ‘It’s good you’re able to socialize more besides with me, Harukawa-san, and Momota-kun, not that I mean any offense or anything.’ She didn’t want to look rude of course, especially since she knows Shuichi has a hard time socializing with others.</p><p>Shuichi nodded as well, “Mh… it feels… kind of nice to talk to someone new, even though I like hanging out with you guys of course.”</p><p>‘Well, are you hanging out with him today again?’</p><p>“Maybe,” Shuichi replied, “It’s… not decided.”</p><p>---</p><p>The first few classes were basically the same. They weren’t fully learning anything yet, but it was a start. Few notes were taken and some class activities into getting to know each other were done, which Shuichi wasn’t really too well with. But other than that, no loud noises startled him.</p><p>Well, except in third block..</p><p>Some classmates thought it’d be funny to yell in his ear during class… which caused him to have a little panic attack. He was fine though, just… a little shaken up.</p><p>He took his hearing aids off the rest of that class, thankfully Ms. Maizono was kind enough to give him the whole copy of notes so that he wouldn’t have to write them… or worry about Kaede writing another set of notes <i>for</i> him.</p><p>He has to wear his hearing aids during class all the time, and he hates it. He hates it so much but yet it’s worth it. He likes going to school like this… home school in his first year in middle school wasn’t that fun, so. Even with his hearing aids on, he can’t always hear everything, so he’s kind of glad Kaede is in all of his classes. He’s guessing his uncle did that for him. Shuichi hopes it wasn’t a bother for her though, I mean of course he knows Kaede cares about him, but sometimes he can’t help but wonder…</p><p>Is he a bother sometimes? A burden? Cause he sure feels like it sometimes.</p><p>These thoughts usually always just… get to him. Everyday at best. He just couldn’t help it. Hearing nothing gives his thoughts extra boosts for him to think, so he guesses it was a good… even though there was a bad side towards it. His thoughts were mostly negative ones, so it ends up being a huge conflict between his inner thoughts when it comes to thinking.</p><p>He didn’t notice it at first, but a small tap on his shoulder had startled him, causing him to jolt out of his seat and snap out of his thoughts. Seeing that it was only Kaede calmed his nerves down. </p><p>‘The lunch bell rang, sorry for scaring you,’ She signed, ‘Are you coming to sit with us, or hangout with your new friend?’</p><p>Shuichi signed a response this time. ‘It’s no problem,” He started, speaking this time, “Well, I’m going back to the spot where I met him, and if we don’t show up at the table at some point, that should probably signal that I’ll be with him for the rest of the lunch period.” </p><p>Kaede nodded, ‘Okay, I’ll catch you later then.’ She gave a small wave before walking out of class, heading towards the class where Kaito and Maki just had.</p><p>Shuichi gazed out of the window, it seemed like a nice day outside overall, so maybe Kokichi would be at the tree he sat down at from yesterday. He moved his seat back to stand up and grabbed his stuff planted at the side of his desk leg. He swung his bag on him and started to head towards the same cherry blossom tree he met Kokichi at. A surge of positive feelings went through him. He was excited, surprised, impatient, grateful, all those kinds of feelings. Someone’s willing to extend a hand to him and know who he actually is… even learning the way to communicate with him too.</p><p>The only thing was that… Kokichi wasn’t there at the tree. Shuichi stared at the trunk before shaking his head lightly. No big deal, maybe he was doing something else. He moved the hat on his head slightly to adjust it before moving to sit down, having his head leaning against the tree trunk and looking up. It really is a nice day, the sun was lightly shining through the tree’s branches and leaves, leaving some beams showing through to make a fluorescent atmosphere. Shuichi felt like he was in a movie scene, at least in the more sentimental calm ones. His eyes fluttered to close, fully going into relaxation mode. The silence, not being able to hear anything at all helped with his relaxation. This is what he enjoyed about not being able to hear anything, the silence. It’s his silence. His silence where he can enjoy being himself in his own little world.</p><p>It’s been awhile since he was able to do this, but eventually he did check the time. He can’t exactly hear when the bell rings unless he has his hearing aids on him. He doesn’t like the ringing of the bell. It was a bit too noisy for his taste. Glancing at his phone, it was nearly time to head back to class. He perked his head up and peered around. No Kokichi.</p><p>Maybe he didn’t want to hang out today, that’s fine though. Shuichi figured he had other friends, and hanging out with the people you want to hang out at any given moment is okay, so he didn’t mind.</p><p>He moved himself up, adjusting the hat on his head again and started going to the direction of his next class. He’s sure the bell must’ve run at this point because of how everyone was scattering across the school, minding their own business. He eyed Kaede and the other two at some point, making his way over in the direction to them. They all had the same class this block period anyways.</p><p>Kaito spotted Shuichi fairly quickly and gave him a wave. Maki followed his gaze, moving her hand to give the other a wave as well.</p><p>Shuichi waved back with a small smile, walking next to Kaede ‘How was your lunch?’ He asked, signing this as they walked.</p><p>Maki was the first to respond, ‘Good.’ She told him, speaking as she did so. ‘Akamatsu told us that you were hanging out with this other guy, Ouma was it?’</p><p>Shuichi nodded in reply, smiling sadly. ‘He didn’t actually come though, so I just hung out there by myself near the tree.’</p><p>Kaito gasped, which Shuichi could tell by the look of his face. ‘Why didn’t you hang out with us??’</p><p>Kaede frowned a little and nodded to agree with Kaito, ‘You wouldn’t have had to be lonely if you were with us.’</p><p>Shuichi chuckled, rubbing the side of his face sheepishly. “It’s fine, I probably wouldn’t have kept up with your guy’s conversation anyways… plus I like to take a break from being near people, especially after this morning…” He mumbled the last part a little, not like he knew he did but only Kaede had heard him.</p><p>“Earlier in second block, two guys thought it’d be funny to yell in Saihara-kun’s ear when he had his hearing aids on, wasn’t the best time for him.” Kaede explained, turning to look at Maki and Kaito.</p><p>Maki’s face deadpanned at hearing that. “See, this is why I wish you’d let me pummel people.”</p><p>The three of them went on that little argument for the rest of the walk, Shuichi being completely unaware of the conversation and the topic of it. He didn’t mind, he’s used to this anyways, he was sure it wasn’t important for him to hear anyways, they’ll drag him back in if it’s necessary.</p><p>By this point, they were in their seats for the next block period, and Shuichi as per usual had to put his hearing aids on… even though he didn’t want to. His hands were shaking slightly as he placed them in his ears. He didn’t like this all too much. He didn’t want to hear anything, the comfort of silence just earlier in lunch is something he wants back. He knows he’s only hearing the voice of his teacher, but he just couldn’t stand it. What if the same thing happens again? What if someone thought it’d be funny to scream in his ears.</p><p>“Saihara-kun.” </p><p>Shuichi turned to his right, blinking in surprise. Kaede…</p><p>“Take some deep breaths, alright? No one here is going to yell at you.” She gave him a soft smile afterwards. Shuichi felt like tearing up at this point. He only remembers hearing Kaede’s voice once, but the quietness in her voice was… so welcoming. He nodded afterwards, taking a few deep breaths to himself and went back to try and pay attention to class. It’s a good thing his attention span isn’t small.</p><p>---</p><p> He managed to make it through the entire class without freaking out though, so that was an improvement on his part. Wouldn’t want to have a panic attack in the middle of class, would he now?</p><p>The next class didn’t have much to say, nothing abnormal had happened, and nobody messed with Shuichi so this overall seemed like a great day! Besides what had happened this morning. He’s still a little down that he wasn’t able to see Kokichi at all today, but it was fine… they had only just met. He doesn’t even know why he was making such a big deal.</p><p>He bumped into something… or someone a few minutes later on his walk outside. He glanced up from the ground, looking down at the one and only, Kokichi Ouma.</p><p>The other looked surprised, but started moving his hands afterwards. ‘Hey Saihara-chan.’ Kokichi signed carefully, giving him a look to see if he got it right.</p><p>Shuichi blinked in confusion before smiling. ‘Hi Ouma-kun’ He signed back, giving the other the confirmation that he had successfully signed it correctly. “You learned JSL..?” He asked verbally.</p><p>Kokichi nodded in reply, getting the notepad back out. ‘I know how bad it is to communicate like this on a notepad of all things, so I wanted to try and make things easier for you if I can.’ He added another one of his happy faces at the end. ‘I’m still learning,’ he wrote, ‘but I can at least talk to you in mostly a normal way.’</p><p>Shuichi chuckled, ‘Thank you.’ He signed to him with a smile. ‘Will we be hanging out today?’</p><p>‘Not sure,’ Kokichi responded, signing as slow as he could to not get the signals wrong. Rantaro has taught him that one wrong move could make you say something completely different. He wrote this part down on his notepad this time, ‘Wouldn’t be too good for us to go around, we can maybe hang out once I learn more about JSL! I’ll make sure to be quick!’ He wrote, “My big brother knows practically almost everything in JSL, so he’s helping me with it!’</p><p>Shuichi nodded with a smile. That was better than having no hangout with him. He’ll just have to be patient. “Where were you earlier at lunch?” He asked after another moment.</p><p>‘The library,’ Kokichi signed, ‘I was working on this.’</p><p>Shuichi felt himself get even more happier by the second. “That’s… nice…” He told him, fiddling with his hands a little as he shyly looked at the ground. He feels kind of stupid for making a big deal about this.</p><p>“Aw… Saihara-chan’s embarrassed…” Kokichi cooed quietly, even though he knew Shuichi couldn’t hear him. He tapped the other on the arm, making him look at him before signing again, ‘Is Saihara-chan embarrassed?’ He asked.</p><p>The taller of the two felt his face flush when he asked that and glanced back down. “Sorry… I just- can’t believe you’re willing to learn JSL to communicate with me, Ouma-kun…” He told him, pulling his hat over his face to hide that heating blush covering his cheeks.</p><p>Little did Shuichi know, that actually helped Kokichi on his part. A frown peered on his face when he said that. Wow… he really does seem an ass in his head now. He was only doing this to try and get rid of the bad feeling in his chest when he’s hanging out with him. He didn’t want to hurt the other in any way, but… he didn’t exactly plan for them both to be friends either. Kokichi has seen the other with his other friends before, what good will it do if he had another?</p><p>After another moment, his frown faded away, back to a usual smile and he tapped one of Shuichi’s hands. The other slightly uncovered his face, and looked at him.</p><p>‘I just wanted to show you…’ There was a pause, ‘that I can do this now, Saihara-chan’ Kokichi signed with a small smile, which caused Shuichi to smile himself. God why the heck does Shuichi have to be so nice? Kokichi couldn’t take it.</p><p>‘I should get going now, see you tomorrow.’ He signed before starting to head towards the front of the school, only to be stopped when he felt Shuichi grab his wrist. He glanced back, seeing a phone in his hands.</p><p>“Uhm… if you don’t mind, could we exchange numbers?” Shuichi asked, letting go of Kokichi afterwards. His head dropped down afterwards, now he’s staring at his phone. “Sorry- uhm- we don’t have to of course, I just thought since we’ve been talking it’d be handy to have each other’s phone numbers-”</p><p>Kokichi stared at him, his eyes slightly widening at the sudden question, quickly trying to answer with something more… positive. It’s just for the dare, it’s not going to be legit. In the end he tapped the other’s shoulder and gave a thumbs up, whipping his phone out of his pocket to hand it to Shuichi.</p><p>The taller boy looked up, blinking in surprise when Kokichi handed him his phone. Graciously, he took it in his hold since it had been unlocked, and entered his phone number before sending a test text. A light movement from his pocket got him to grab his own phone, seeing the text message he had sent and added that contact to his. Shuichi handed Kokichi’s phone afterwards, in which he took it out of his hands.</p><p>‘Thank you.’ Shuichi signed, giving him a wave afterwards. Just like with Kokichi earlier, he went to the direction of the front entrance of the school, leaving the other in his lonesome world as he was trying to comprehend what had just happened.</p><p>What exactly did just happen? And why did he give Shuichi his phone number? Now it looks like he’s actually committed to this. This was terrible, even worse than terrible actually. This dare has gone a little bit too far than it has already. Maybe he shouldn’t have talked to Shuichi today, but then again he didn’t want to break his poor feelings. Wait, why was he even caring? Kokichi let out a frustrated noise, receiving a call afterwards and started heading out to the front of the school, stomping his way over there. Rantaro was calling him, which meant as a signal between them that it was time to head home.</p><p>When he approached the car, he opened the door, grumbling something under his breath softly before sitting down and closing it. He buckled himself up, turning his phone on and started playing some random game he had downloaded a few weeks ago.</p><p>“How was school?” Rantaro asked, turning the key in the key hole. The car revved up, a low rumble could be heard once the engine had started and off they drove.</p><p>“Okay.” Kokichi responded blankly. His fingers repeatedly tapped on his phone screen, they were a teeny bit too hard than how a regular person would tap when playing a game. Unless they were really into it.</p><p>Rantaro sighed, “What happened with Saihara-kun now?”</p><p>Kokichi grumbled again. “I keep getting myself into these situations! I ran into him on my way out of school and said hi when I told myself I wasn’t supposed too.” He shutted his phone off, shoving it into his pocket.</p><p>“And let me guess? You didn’t want to hurt his feelings?” Rantaro asked, letting out an exasperated sigh. “Kokichi… you’re going to have to stop at some point.”</p><p>“I know I know… I just don’t want to be mean.”</p><p>“Try tomorrow, and if you can’t do it then it’s your problem from there on out.”</p><p>Kokichi leaned his head against the car window, letting his gaze flow to the outside. What is he going to do?</p><p>---</p><p>‘Did you manage to find Ouma-kun?’</p><p>Shuichi nodded his head, glancing back at what he was doing to scribble something down on a piece of paper. He and Kaede were at his house, doing their homework together. “Only at the end of school… he bumped into me. He learned a little bit of JSL too.” He smiled as he spoke, closing his notebook once he finished writing. He looked back up at Kaede for a response.</p><p>‘That’s wonderful, I’m glad you’re making another friend, Saihara-kun.’ Kaede told him.</p><p>Shuichi nodded, “Mh, me too.” He told her, “I just hope that… he doesn’t find it boring- or you know.”</p><p>Kaede squinted, ‘Saihara-kun, if he’s going out of his way to do this, you know he’s doing it legitly.’</p><p>“Yeah… you’re probably right.” Shuichi chuckled a little, “I guess I’m overthinking this.”</p><p>Kaede nodded triumphantly. Shuichi could be such an overthinker sometimes she swears. It’s not good for that fragile soul of his.</p><p>“So… when is the next piano concert you’re going for?” Shuichi asked. “I know I can’t really hear it without my hearing aids, but… I want to go to your concert one day to listen to one of your shows.”</p><p>Kaede was… a little surprised by that question. “Saihara-kun, you don’t have to do that.” She spoke while she signed. “How about we head over to my house tomorrow so I could play something for you? I would do it today, but I’m busy with preparations for my next performance.”</p><p>Shuichi smiled, nodding in response. “I’d like that.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you everyone who commented and left kudos ^^ honestly made my day when I released the first chapter hahah- this is kind of my first time publishing a fic too, so again thanks :)</p><p>Sorry nothing interesting happened either. I didn't want to rush things too quickly so next chapter is going to have something!!</p><p>I also forgot to mention this last chapter, but I have a tumblr. If you all wanna send an ask or just I don't know chat you can find me there! My user is xechos-stuff</p><p>go bonkers</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Rain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>‘Guess you found us Saihara-chan!’ Kokichi went up to him, way too close than he normally should. He placed his hands on the both of his cheeks, causing the taller to blink in confusion.</p><p>“Ah uhm... Ouma-kun?” Shuichi questioned, guessing that the other was giggling by the look of that wide grin.</p><p>Kokichi scooted back, moving his hands, ‘I suppooose you can have lunch with us by my saying.’</p>
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    <p>It’s Friday now. He’s survived the whole first week of his third year. So far at least.</p><p>Shuichi would say that this week was averagely good. It’s better than any other first week of school he’s had. Not much homework was given out either. Shuichi’s assuming that by next week is where all the work is going to be cranking out. Sounds fun doesn’t it?</p><p>He went to Kaede’s house on Wednesday to hear her play. As he expected, her playing was naturally beautiful and soothing. No loud noises were made while he had his hearing aids on. As scared as he had been, Kaede has this tendency to somehow make his nerves die down.</p><p>It’s calming… the warmth of his heart could feel it.</p><p>He told her one day he’ll have the courage to wear his hearing aids out in public to be able to see one of her concerts. He doesn’t know when it will happen, nonetheless if it would. But he’s striving towards it with no doubt. </p><p>On Thursday nothing interesting really happened. He did happen to stumble across Kokichi, but not much conversation was made. He still makes an attempt to try and at least hang out with him though!</p><p>He then felt a tap on his shoulder, and he turned.</p><p>‘Any clubs you’re interested in joining, Saihara-kun?’ Kaede asked on their walk to school. She obviously was going to join the music club that the school provides. They’re in charge of performing for the school during events as well as competing in competitions for representation.</p><p>Shuichi thought for a moment, rubbing the side of his cheek in thought. “Not sure…” He responded. “I don’t think any of them would accept me anyways.” He smiled sadly, but it was true. He’s deaf, he doesn’t wear his hearing aids after school, and no one was probably going to go through the trouble to translate or even communicate with him in some way. It just wouldn’t happen.</p><p>Kaede frowned and huffed a little. She gave the other a light nudge to try and lighten up the mood. ‘Don’t say that, I’m sure there’s a club just right for you.’</p><p>“Thank you, Akamatsu-san,” Shuichi responded. “But it’s fine. It’s not like it’ll be the end of the world if I don’t ever get to be in a club at school. There’s always… other programs.” He sighed softly, facing forward after speaking.</p><p>Kaede frowned in defeat once Shuichi faced back forward. She wished some people out there would just… have the heart to get to know him. Her anti social deaf friend needs some other light in his life. Either way though, there didn’t seem to be much hope of that happening… besides maybe the fact that the Kokichi fellow is keeping in contact with him.</p><p>Well, not exactly, but Kaede never knew.</p><p>Kokichi’s… been on and off. Shuichi couldn’t really understand it, but he kept telling himself. ‘Maybe he just wants to hang out with his other friends’ or ‘Maybe he’s just busy’. He never really knew the answer towards it, but all he knows is that Kokichi makes some of an effort to talk to him at least. As far as he knows, nobody else has broken that record. Well- aside from all of his lifetime friends from middle school of course.</p><p>The two friends eventually made it near the rim of the school. The light breeze of the wind blowing the both of their hair gently. Weather was nice today. Kaede tapped Shuichi’s shoulder lightly after a moment. </p><p>‘Are you going to try and find Ouma-kun? Or do you want to hang out with Harukawa-san and Momota-kun this morning?’ She asked him, ‘I can help you look if you’d like.’</p><p>Shuichi shook his head, “No need, Akamatsu-san. If I do need help though, I’ll find you.” He told her, adjusting his bag before heading off.</p><p>He looked everywhere where he could think of. He didn’t necessarily know where Kokichi hung out or stayed regularly, so he just checked the most common areas where others hang around. Eventually he stumbled across the school’s side area outside, seeing Kokichi leaned against the wall while talking to… two other people. He’s assuming those were his other friends.</p><p>There was a girl, taller than the both of them actually. Her pink swirly hair stuck out the most to him, but she seemed to be having some kind of argument with Kokichi. It didn’t look too serious, but then again Shuichi couldn’t hear anything so he wouldn’t know. His other friend, just slightly taller than Kokichi, had white, blazing, hair. He seemed to be the one trying to break the two apart from their argument at the moment. He was going to approach them after a little to just… say hi. That didn’t really happen the way he wanted to do it though, since Kokichi spotted him.</p><p>The shorter boy gave him a small wave, driving both the tall girl and the other boy’s attention on Shuichi. Oh boy. He saw them chatting a little, and Kokichi nodded. It’s definitely about him isn’t it?</p><p>Seconds later, Kokichi was in front of him, trying to get his attention. Shuichi blinked, glancing down towards the other to process his message.</p><p>‘Hey Saihara-chan, what’re you doing here?’</p><p>Shuichi decided to sign back while speaking. “I went out to look for you… figuring if we could hang out?” He responded, thinking for a moment. “It’s fine if you don’t want to though… OR if your friends don’t want me here- I can leave- sorry-” He looked down afterwards. Oh gosh, he was rambling a whole lot again, and yet his signing is so precise when he does it. Kokichi couldn’t help but wonder how good of a habit this was.</p><p>Kokichi turned back to his two friends, Miu, and Kiibo. Miu just shook her head, because you know… with the whole ‘fake friend’ situation that Shuichi doesn’t know, she didn’t want the other to like… do something dumb. Kiibo on the other hand sheepishly shrugged. He thinks Kokichi should become his friend either way- I mean what’s really stopping him. Shuichi seems nice from his point of view.</p><p>The purple haired boy groaned at their responses, snapping down so he could get Shuichi’s attention again before signing. ‘You can hang, my friends don’t mind,’ He told him with a small smile. Ugh- he can’t turn him down… even though he kind of wanted to. Did he really though..? Nevermind that, he’ll think about it later. ‘We’re starting….’ He trailed off, taking out a notepad to write down. He hasn’t gotten the whole gist of JSL yet, so this would probably be easier. ‘We’re starting a card game anyways.’ He wrote, showing it to Shuichi.</p><p>Shuichi blinked, staring at the notepad before smiling. He couldn’t help it, an exciting feeling overwhelmed him a little. Finally being able to hang out with him was… a little reassuring that maybe their friendship could still be more… possible. He doesn’t mean to be a little bit clingy on this topic, but he really couldn’t help it. “What kind of card game?” He asked.</p><p>Kokichi shrugged, writing something down again. “We usually suggest it before voting, and if it’s a tie then we rock paper scissors!” He stuck his tongue out at him as he showed the notepad before gesturing to follow him, “I’ll introduce you to them too!”</p><p>Here come introductions. Shuichi glanced between Miu and Kiibo, giving them both small waves of greeting. He looked over at Kokichi afterwards, assuming he was going to introduce him to his two friends.</p><p>‘This is Idabashi-kun. But we call him Kiibo.’ Kokichi gestured over to Kiibo as he signed that. It was kind of hard to understand in Shuichi’s perspective honestly, but he mostly got it.</p><p>‘This is Iruma-chan.’ Kokichi pointed to Miu, bringing out his notepad to scribble something down. ‘She’s also the horniest bitch you’ll ever meet!’</p><p>Shuichi blinked once he read that and well- he didn’t know what to say. He tilted the side of his hat to cover his face and mumbled something inherently. Well, that was something.</p><p>Miu huffed, marching over to Kokichi to try and snatch that notepad, in which she failed to do so. Kokichi swiftly moved from her grasp, running over to Kiibo to hide behind him. Shuichi couldn’t hear it, but he could tell Kokichi was obviously snickering. Miu looked like she was spouting insults while Kiibo tried getting them both to settle down. Seems like these three have known each other for a while if they go off like this.</p><p>Kiibo eventually had managed to get away from those two, so now they were just running in circles with Miu still trying to get her hands on Kokichi’s notepad, wondering what he wrote about her. She’s assuming it is about her anyways. </p><p>Shuichic’s eyes trailed over to Kiibo, giving him a silent wave before watching him… sign…</p><p>‘Sorry about them Saihara-kun, they tend to get like this because of their usual insult jokes.’</p><p>Shuichi blinked, opening his mouth for a response before deciding not to. ‘You can do JSL?’ He asked, looking a little stupefied.</p><p>Kiibo nodded with a small smile. ‘I’m taking classes for it, and my dad taught me most of the basics when I was a kid so it kind of stuck onto me.’</p><p>Shuichi’s mouth turned into an ‘o’ shape. He grinned a little afterwards, another person besides his friends who knows JSL! ‘Do you mind if I call you Kiibo? Or is that… too early?’</p><p>He saw that Kiibo had chuckled, or laughed. He can’t tell the difference until he hears it. ‘Kiibo is fine, honestly half of the students here already call me that.’ He shrugged a little, ‘It’s kind of my title thing at this point.’</p><p>‘So… Kiibo isn’t your real name..?’ Shuichi asked, giving him a puzzled look.</p><p>Once again, Kiibo chuckled… or what it looks to be chuckling. ‘Kind of- in a sense anyways.’ He told him, looking back at Miu and Kokichi and rushed over towards them.</p><p>Shuichi took a peak, seeing Kiibo trying to tear them apart so that they wouldn’t be at each other’s throats. Huh… do friends really get that violent with each other? Guess they do depending on how the friendship is. He saw them bickering between each other, Kokichi still having the notepad with… the vulgar language that he had shown him.</p><p>It took him a few seconds to realize Miu was in front of him now. Seems like she was demanding him to tell her something.</p><p>“Tell me what Ouma said!” He imagined, or at least something along the lines in more of an insult.</p><p>“Iruma-san, Saihara-kun can’t hear you, you know.” Kiibo told her, also signing it so that Shuichi could understand the context.</p><p>“Then tell him!” Miu screamed, waving her arms in the air over to Shuichi.</p><p>Kiibo only sighed in response. “Is it really that important for you to know?” He questioned, crossing his arms afterwards.</p><p>“Yes!!”</p><p>They… continued arguing. Shuichi rubbed the side of his face sheepishly and found his eyes trailing over towards where Kokichi was. The other was currently typing something down on his phone, it didn't seem like he was paying attention to his surroundings as much since Miu averted her attention onto Kiibo. Shuichi moved over to him, lightly tapping him on the shoulder which caused him to jolt a little. He saw him say something, probably his name in surprise but since he couldn’t hear he couldn’t know for sure.</p><p>‘Do you need something Saihara-chan?’</p><p>“Do you and your friends fight this much?” Shuichi asked in return, pursing his lips a little. Maybe it’s just a lifestyle they have, but even if they are jokes in the end… it doesn’t fit right with him.</p><p>Kokichi laughed a little, shaking his head in response. ‘No no, I think Saihara-chan is so used to goodie two shoed friends.’ He grinned after he spoke and poked his cheeks. ‘Need a little spice in your life I see…’</p><p>Shuichi blinked, “Spice in my- what?” he rubbed the side of his cheeks.</p><p>The other cackled, clutching his stomach a little. ‘Oh Saihara-chan, you’re too funny.’</p><p>Shuichi was about to say a word, but just then he was interrupted by the school bell. All students turned their head to the noise, finishing up their conversations before taking their leave for their first class. Kokichi found himself sighing in relief, he didn’t know how long he could’ve pulled a fake demeanour in front of Shuichi. He… didn’t really want him here in the first place. Thank god that the other didn’t hear his sigh.</p><p>“Is it… alright if I hang out with you guys during lunch?” Kokichi heard the other ask after a moment. He picked his bag up and put it on before looking back at him and signed.</p><p>‘Only if you can find us, Saihara-chan.’</p><p>Shuichi opened his mouth to say something else, but Kokichi held a finger up to his mouth to stop him. He used his other hand to wag his finger at him as a sign for ‘no’, and hearing Shuichi pout caused him to snicker.</p><p>‘It’s a game, Saihara-chan.’ Kokichi signed, sticking his tongue out at him and moved back with his hands placed on his hips. ‘It’ll be fun!’</p><p>No, it won’t be fun. He doesn’t want Shuichi to be with the three of them at all times. Hell he wasn’t even interested in becoming friends with Shuichi in the first place! Stupid Miu with her stupid dare…</p><p>Kokichi shook his head mentally, no need to think about that right now. It’s not like Shuichi would be able to find them in their hiding spots anyways. Chances are super slim.</p><p>‘See you Saihara-chan!’ Kokichi waved, grabbing his bags before running off with Miu and Kiibo, who had been <i>patiently</i> waiting for him.</p><p>Shuichi was left by himself, and he never moved to head to his first class until he could no longer see the sight of the three of them.</p><p>Kokichi was sure that he wouldn’t find him. Not at all.</p><p>---</p><p>Lunch finally came, and Kokichi was still confused, petrified and surprised at how Shuichi had found them.</p><p>Miu bursted into laughter once she knew Kokichi was absolutely terrified that Shuichi had found them. The split second of the sight of his face was utterly <i>priceless.</i> Kiibo however was… concerned to say the least. It wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy Shuichi being here. In fact, he thinks Kokichi should become friends with Shuichi. He sees no reason to not become friends with him. Kokichi’s just weird. Although he is complicated in most forms.</p><p>‘Guess you found us Saihara-chan!’ Kokichi went up to him, way too close than he normally should. He placed his hands on the both of his cheeks, causing the taller to blink in confusion.</p><p>“Ah uhm... Ouma-kun?” Shuichi questioned, guessing that the other was giggling by the look of that wide grin.</p><p>Kokichi scooted back, moving his hands, ‘I suppooose you can have lunch with us by my saying.’ He told him, booping his nose right after and ran back over to his spot where his lunch was at. Shuichi glanced over to Kiibo, and he got a sheepish shrug as an answer. Well, guess it made sense in a way. Kokichi was childish… having a playful personality he’s sure that he does this to them too- or at least to others in the past.</p><p>Shuichi went over to sit down next to Kokichi afterwards. He opened his lunch out, he made himself curry this morning to take, and boy did it look good. Kokichi’s lunch consisted of rice, fried meat, and a few vegetables. He looked over at Shuichi’s lunch and narrowed his eyes at it. An idea came up in his head afterwards. He tapped the side of Shuichi’s shoulder, moving his hands to sign to him.</p><p>‘Saihara-chan, share food with me!’ He told him, giving the other a little grin.</p><p>Shuichi blinked, staring at him for a moment. “Sh… Share food with you?” he asked, glancing at the other’s lunch. Well, he didn’t mind of course but it was a bit odd for him to be saying this. Kokichi giggled, or what looked to be like it in Shuichi’s eyes and moved his chopsticks to grab a bundle of the curry, and put it in his mouth. Ooh it was even spicy hot too! Spicy foods are the greatest!</p><p>Shuichi didn’t even protest of him doing that. He took a piece of the fried meat from Kokichi’s box and took a bite of it too. After that he started eating his own lunch.</p><p>The rest of the lunch consisted of them both eating together, making small talk whenever they could. It mostly relied on Kokichi honestly. During the middle of it, Shuichi felt his phone buzz in his pocket and glanced down. “I’ll be right back.” he told Kokichi, setting his food down and trudged over somewhere away from the group. He looked down at his screen to see who was calling him.</p><p>The contact was labeled as ‘Tadashi Saihara’</p><p>Oh, it was his dad. Why is he calling him? They should know he can’t hear. Unless they’re really that forgetful. He declined the call, going over to their text messages.</p><p>‘Did you really forget that I can’t hear anything.’ His text was sent, and the bubbles popped up shortly after.</p><p>‘Shuichi! Guess what?’</p><p>Shuichi never answered.</p><p>‘Your mother and I are going to be visiting you and your uncle this weekend! Isn’t that great?’</p><p>Shuichi furrowed his eyebrows at his phone screen, typing a ‘Yeah. Totally.’</p><p>‘We’re so glad you’re excited about it honey!’ By the way it was typed, he was assuming that was his mom. He couldn’t believe this at all. They both really couldn’t take a hint could they?</p><p>‘We hope you’re keeping up with the performing arts, you know how much your father and I want you to pursue an acting career!’ Shuichi could feel how utterly <i>excited</i> they were about it, and all he could make out was a bad feeling in his stomach. Not a good one in all honesty.</p><p>‘That’s all that was to it, see you tomorrow Shu!’ His father texted, probably going offline shortly after, leaving Shuichi on dial. He hated it when they called him that.</p><p>“Saihara-chaaaaan!” Kokichi practically sang, making his way over to the other before interlacing his arms with his for a little side hug. The other couldn’t hear him, but he wanted to say it outloud anyway! Shuichi glanced down towards him, and Kokichi adjusted his hat a little to have a better look before signing.</p><p>‘What’s gotten into youuu? You look more emo than before!’</p><p>Shuichi frowned, “Oh, I just got a text from my parents. They said they were coming but would be a little late tomorrow.” He lied, he was not looking forward to his parents coming home, and Kokichi could see right through that. He huffed in response.</p><p>Kokichi took his notepad out, he can’t sign all of the words yet. ‘You’re really looking depressed over some lame excuse your parents made for coming back home late??’ He looked at Shuichi, giving him a cheeky grin. ‘I think Saihara -chan is a big BIG liiiiaarrrr!!!’ He added the extra punctuations just because.</p><p>“I- I’m not lying!” Shuichi stammered, glancing away slightly using only his eyes. Kokichi giggled, putting his notepad away and got real close to his face, more close than anyone really should regarding personal space. He cupped his cheeks with the both of his hands, that sly grin still plastered over his face. Even though Shuichi couldn’t hear what he was saying, he had a feeling he already knew what he was going to say.</p><p>
  <i>“Liar, liar, pants on fire!”</i>
</p><p>The other’s warm breath on his face sent shivers down his back. His cheeks were rosy as well because of how close Kokichi was to his face. Was… this normal to him?</p><p>Seconds later after speaking, Kokichi completely let go, turning away to have his back facing towards him. He rested his hands on the back of his head. Although Shuichi couldn’t directly see his expression, that same grin and smirk was still continuously on his face. He let out a soft sigh, adjusting his hat a little. No doubt Kokichi managed to mess his lil’ hat up somehow on his head.</p><p>Kokichi chuckled, turning back over to Shuichi and got close once again. He didn’t put his hands on the other’s face though, he’s already messed with him enough. ‘You know Saihara-chan,’ He started, staring down at his hands to make sure he was signing correctly. He looked back up at Shuichi afterwards. ‘If you’re really that secretive over family issues, I won’t bug you too much on it.’ Kokichi being somewhat nice and not nosy for once? No way jose.</p><p>Shuichi blinked, taking a moment to process what he had just told him. “I- uhm… Ouma-kun, I wasn’t-”<br/>
Kokichi pouted, jumping up and down as if he was having a little tantrum. He looked at Shuichi, ‘Saihara-chaaaan!! Stop lying already!!’ He signed, making himself look like he was whining. He couldn’t express too much when signing, so this’ll do!</p><p>Shuichi blinked, wow, Kokichi was definitely a child. Personality wise of course… and because of the way he always acts. He didn’t know why he did this, but he started… laughing. I mean after that scene Kokichi made, he couldn’t help BUT to find it funny. Kokichi on the other hand started pouting. He wasn’t sure why Shuichi was even laughing, but at least he didn’t look so boringly depressed. After a moment though he jumped onto Shuichi and started to lightly hit him playfully. They didn’t fall at least.</p><p>“Stop laughing at meee!” He complained, Shuichi couldn’t hear but he could give zero f’s despite that.</p><p>Shuichi continued laughing, eventually just flat out giggling before letting it die down. He looked at Kokichi, smiling towards him before slightly pushing him away so they wouldn’t be too close. “You know Ouma-kun, despite what everyone says about you around school, you’re… really fun to be around with.”</p><p>Kokichi stopped hitting him once he spoke, staring at him for a moment. Wait- he really thinks that huh? Well that’s definitely interesting. Maybe… being friends with him wouldn’t be so bad after all.</p><p>‘Saihara-chan, you flatter me.’ Kokichi stated, bashfully placing both of his hands on his own cheeks before signing again. ‘You’re really telling the truth though? Are you? Are youuuuu?’</p><p>Shuichi chuckled a little but nodded in response. “Of course, why would I lie to you about that, Ouma-kun?” He asked in return with a small smile.</p><p>‘Saihara-chan thinks he’s soooo smooth!’ Kokichi signed to him, a little grin coming across his face once again.</p><p>“Ouma-kun, what is that even supposed to mean?”</p><p>‘No worries Saihara-chan! You’ll learn once you grow up!’</p><p>---</p><p>Lunch was over by the time that conversation ended, and the four of them ended up dropping each other off to their classes before going their separate ways. Shuichi and Kokichi ended up being the last ones to be together. They were both heading to Kokichi’s class first, since Shuichi is such a gentleman.</p><p>Kokichi gave him a little solute of his gratitude and grinned, ‘Thanks Saihara-chan, you better get going now or you’ll totally be late!’</p><p>Shuichi smiled softly but nodded in response. “Mh, won’t be late, I have about eight minutes until then.” he pointed up to the clock on top of the classroom door.</p><p>Kokichi glanced up at the clock. Wow, he really did have exactly eight minutes to get to class. ‘Saihara-chan’s a walking clock!!’ He told him, giggling after before trying to shoo him off. ‘Now go! Before you’re <i>really</i> late!’ He flapped his hands at him like he was going to chase him off.</p><p>Shuichi put a hand up to swat the other’s hands away and huffed, “Okay okay- I’m going, <i>mom.</i>”</p><p>Kokichi snorted, ‘Byee Sweetchiii!’ He just added the last part of his first name to the word sweet… he thought it’d be cute and it indeed is.</p><p>The taller of the two ended up with red cheeks after that little nickname, but Shuichi gave him a wave before leaving for class. Now he only had five minutes. Still though, it was probably the nickname that threw him off for the rest of the day- but he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Maybe he was just overreacting… he does it on a daily basis so it would make sense.</p><p>“Sweetchi…” Shuichi uttered under his breath. He hoped he pronounced it right, even if nobody couldn’t even hear it. His lips curved into a soft smile. He really likes that name.</p><p>By the remainder of the last period, gray clouds stormed into the brightly blue sky, covering the sun in seconds. And as dull as the weather could get, it had eventually started raining. He never brought an umbrella with him. Uncle Satoshi couldn't pick him up either, Kaede had to head to piano practice real early, and well- Maki and Kaito had to stay in after school to help out with clubs.</p><p>He was standing in front of the school, sat down on the stairs while being sheltered by the porch of the school building. Guess all he could really do was wait the rain out, he didn’t verily want to get soaked outside. Time has passed since then, and the rain hasn’t lifted yet. Uncle Satoshi doesn’t come home until late late, so he definitely still had some time at the very minimum. At least he completed his homework, so he didn’t have to worry about that. Shuichi felt someone tap on his hat moments later, and although it may have startled him at first, when he looked to see who it was his nerves calmed down once he saw that it was no one other than Kokichi Ouma himself. He had an umbrella open, and it rested against his shoulder. Looks like he came prepared.</p><p>“Oh- Ouma-kun,” Shuichi started, standing up afterwards to talk to him easier, “I’d assume you were off already.”</p><p>Kokichi shook his head, trying to sign something but found it difficult because he was holding an umbrella. He sighed, handing his umbrella to Shuichi to take, in which he… had hesitantly did. With that, Kokichi spoke… with his hands!</p><p>‘I went to the library to study with Kiibo since he wanted to be prepared for tomorrow’s english test.’ He worded it the best way he could, and whichever words he struggled with, he just ended up writing it down on his handy dandy notepad! Shuichi appreciates how hard he was trying to talk to him honestly… no one’s done that for awhile now.</p><p>“Oh- so you’re heading out then right?” He asked, twirling the other’s umbrella in his hands a little. It makes him feel like that umbrella girl from a western movie…<br/>

Kokichi nodded, ‘Yeah! And I can see you’re in a pickle since you’re not gone yet!’ He stated, glancing out of the building out into the rain field. He looked back at Shuichi and smiled, ‘How about this Saihara-chan! I drop you off at your house yeah? I’ll text my brother about it so he doesn’t get worried!’ He didn’t even wait for a reply since he had already taken his phone out to text Rantaro. And Rantaro gave him the okay… so he was going no matter what.</p><p>Shuichi sighed, honestly, he didn’t even bother denying it. He kind of needed to go home anyways. “Sure, sounds good, thanks Ouma-kun.” He told him, earning a little grin from Kokichi.</p><p>‘You hold the umbrella, since you’re tall and all-” Kokichi told him before leading the way outside into the rain. He waited for Shuichi of course- since he really didn’t want to get wet. Shuichi followed, leading them both back to his house eventually, and once they were under the little porch, he handed the other’s umbrella back. </p><p>“Thank you again, Ouma-kun.” Shuichi told him, giving him a small smile.</p><p>Kokichi took his umbrellas back and winked at him, doing finger guns. ‘No prob Saihara-chan.” He responded, giving him a wave. ‘See you on Monday.’ He turned to leave after that.</p><p>Oh, he completely forgot about it. “See you!” He shouted, heading on inside after.</p><p>Tomorrow is the day where his parents came over, that’s what he had forgotten.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Alas, the long wait is over. Apologies for taking like... three months(?) of updating a new one, hopefully this is worth while and thank you all for the support and kudos &lt;3</p>
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